Lavrov says West replaces diplomacy with sanctions

VLADIVOSTOK, September 3. /TASS/. Sanctions have become the West's main foreign policy tool, ultimately displacing diplomacy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a lecture organized by the Znanie Society at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

"The West does not like structures where it has to be part of a consensus because the West increasingly - and this is characteristic of Europe, the Anglo-Saxons, primarily the British, but also the Americans, including the current administration - continues to seek to dictate its will. These neocolonial tendencies are very persistent," he said.

"Diplomacy is the oldest profession. I ask everyone to keep that in mind. The West does not want to reach agreements; it wants to dictate. Diplomacy has now been replaced by sanctions for the West. As soon as someone does something wrong from the point of view of our Western colleagues, sanctions are immediately imposed," Lavrov noted.

The Eastern Economic Forum is being held on September 1-4 in Vladivostok on the campus of Far Eastern Federal University. The forum is organized by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Russian government. TASS is the general information partner.